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June 10, 2011

Maddie’s Make a Wish Birthday Party

As a kid, the birthday wish was the all-important-part of the birthday celebration. Blowing out those candles meant there was a glimmer of hope that some small dream in your little heart would have a chance of coming true if made at that very moment. There is so much that is magic about birthdays when you are a child that seems to go away as we get older; celebrating and capturing some of that magic was my aim when we started planning Madeline’s 5th “Make a Wish” birthday party. You can see a bit more of the party theme story here.

Madeline’s birthday was extra fun to put together, as she – for the first time – had quite a few opinions on what her party needed to include. The colors had to be pink and silver, “because that’s what colors wishes are.” Adding some aqua, too, was ok with the birthday girl. And a have-to-have was a proper birthday crown. She was thrilled to receive the beautiful pink Swarovski crystal tiara from Tradewind Tiarasto wear on her special day! The tiara absolutely shimmered and sparkled — it was magical!

We didn’t want to keep the birthday wishes to ourselves, so we asked our blog readers what their birthday wishes as small children were. I took all those wishes and bottled them or hung them in stars – I think this ended up being my favorite party detail. I laughed and cried at the responses I received – wishes for rainbow princess unicorns, giant engagement rings from Justin Bieber, and abandoned toys r us trucks made me smile. Other wishes like those made for healthy parents, just to have any birthday party at all, and a wish to live in america were perspective adjusting. We so enjoyed having all those birthday wishes as part of our party!

DESSERTS

The little bottled wishes were set among the desserts in the thrift store china hutch I painted ocean blue. I lined the back of the hutch with scrapbook paper I had designed for the occasion. We had dandelion inspired brownie pops and sparkling oreo pops made lovingly by my friend Courtney and special custom made “Wish” cookies provided by Dainty Delights and beautiful Kandy Kones from Posh Party Pretties. Twinkle pops and M&M filled push pops sourced from CupKates Event Designs rounded out our sweet offerings in the hutch. More on the desserts in my next post!

Sitting on a pink tea cart close by was the gorgeous star and candle filled birthday cake by Something Sweet Cake Studio. Johnnie did a fabulous job creating a sparkling pink confection that was exactly what I wanted! It tasted even better than it looked. Strawberry milkshake shots (a request from the birthday girl) sat by as a birthday cake chaser–these were definitely a kid favorite!!

THE TABLE

Maddie was quite insistent that all the birthday guests needed to have birthday hats! Each place was set with pink melamine plates, a specially-made birthday hat, antique lace napkin tied with crystal napkin rings from Tradewind Tiaras, and a cupcake topped with a silver candle and crepe edged cupcake topper in a cupcake wrapper from Laugh Loud Smile Big. All the cupcake were placed on individual stands from Blowout Party.

This is usually a custom reserved for the birthday boy or girl, but since our party was all about birthday wishes, we let our party guests blow out candles and make a wish along with the birthday girl (she got a cake full to blow out!). Buds, Etc. graciously provided the beautiful floral centerpieces draped in pearls, studded with sparkles, and set in milk glass vases from her personal collection. I always love working with Patti and the attention to detail and her style is incredible! The chair backs were tied with lengths of ribbon and finished with crepe paper rosettes with sparkling silver stars.

ACTIVITIES

While we waited for all the guests to arrive so we could have lunch, we kept the little guests busy making ribbon wands and sparkly snow globes. They occupied themselves after that playing with the balloons that were scattered on the floor. Sometimes your best laid plans are laid to the wayside by those you are trying to entertain. After lunch, we treated everyone to a magic show by Dr. Dan the Magic Man. The dove was the highlight of the show!

DECOR

I love party art! In the party rooms, we hung sewn circle garlands and streaming trails of little silver stars. Renee Adler, a Frog Prince Paperie designer, was nice enough to create the “Starlight, Star bright” poster I placed on a painted canvas to display. The triple sliding glass door that is a prominent feature in the party room had dandelion vinyl art applied to the length. Natalie at the Knock Knock Factoryprovided a colorful wreath in the “Wish” theme. I also used an Ikea chandelier and an old torch lamp to create a giant dandelion for decoration! It was very funny to watch the children blowing on the dandelion trying to make extra big wishes.

FAVORS

Each little guest left with a star that held a tiny star necklace that said “Wish” on the front, while the boys in attendance took home a star filled with chocolate coins for the wishing well. There were many adults at the party without kids, so we had a small box of Godiva chocolates for them to take home as a thank you.

WITH GRATITUDE

A special thank you toSouthern Belle’s Charm who once again aided in dreaming up some unique ideas to help make our party special! And another heartfelt thank you to all the vendors who lent time and talent:

Breathtaking! The moment I heard about this party, I knew it would be magical. You have created an unforgettable experience for Maddie and that is what it is all about. I adore every detail! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the special day. Looking forward to many more!

Thank you everyone! Glad you enjoy it! I did paint thrift store finds for the furniture; all were very very inexpensive (kid’s birthday party after all!) and it took place in my home. Most of these shots are in my dining room. 🙂

This is absolutely STUNNING! I mean, there are no words for how beautiful this party turned out. Great job mama! I wish I were as talented as you, cause you are amazing!!!! My daughter would die for this party, thank you for all your talent and wonderful ideas!

Hi Paula, this is the dreamiest party I’ve ever seen. Not all event designers can make it simple yet elegant and magical. Thank you for sharing. Is it possible for you to make editable partyware available on etsy?

Hi! This is the most beautiful party, and such a creative theme. I love everything about it! I am also completely in love with your blue china cabinet. You wouldn’t happen to remember what paint color that is, would you? I mean I am seriously over-the-top in love with that cabinet. ; LOL Thanks!

Cecily – Happy Belated Birthday! Thanks again for spending today with us we can’t wait to see the reltuss! Maddie kept talking about you this afternoon and she smiled tons after you left, of course.August 17, 2007 9:32 PM

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Meet Paula

My father came home from a trip for work when I was a little girl toting a huge (to me) book of fairy tales. I was instantly smitten with the beautiful illustrations and the stories that came alive from those worn pages. My favorite was always the frog prince…my mother read it to me over and over (and over.) Read More…